Finally got a quote today for a full GSL-SE 13B rebuild. Won't mention the shop as they have a private vendor forum here and I trust them to do top notch work.

But I guess my dilemma is - do I spend $6,300 to re-build the engine? The car is in great shape, but has 325K miles. Interior was redone a few years back. Has a new stereo with sub-woofer. The paint and body is in pretty good shape, but needs a new rear bumper and paint - another $5,000 for a top-notch job.

I have owned this car for 27 years and love it, but do I really want to spend $6,300 on the engine, and then another $5,000 within a few years on paint + body?

Weekend to think about it...

 

6300??!??!!?!?!? for a JUST a rebuild? or is that including removal and install and various other services?

 

Not just a rebuild...

Includes removal and install, as well as final testing, tuning, and clean-up. That line item is 13 hours @ $100 per hour for $1,300.

As far as parts, includes brand-new rotor housing @ $1,000 as well as as new internal soft parts set (all seals, gaskets) at $1,500.

The actual labor on the rebuild is 18 hours at $100 for $1,800, including tear-down.

Add all of these up, and get to $5,600. The rest is small stuff. External gasket, main bearing, spark plugs + oil, engine mount, used (but newer than mine) wiring harness...

(Numbers are rounded up a little...)

 

thats about right, books time to remove and replace the engine is about 12 hours, plus whatever time they charge to actually take it apart and rebuild it.

gaskets and seals are about $1200, give or take, rotor housings, which you should just get since you can, are another $1000.

plus a clutch, while its off... radiator, thermostat, hoses, metering lines, engine mounts, etc.

so yeah $6300 is about right.

 

well, you do have some choices once you hit $11K with paint! NICE low(er) mileage -SEs can be had for $7K and up. At $11K or less you really have the pick of the Litter. That could land you a very sweet, low mileage (60K mi?) -SE (or: FB or SA if you are so inclined and want to expand the field of choices), with very likely change left in your pocket.

Of course, you lose the emotional connection to a car you have owned since near-new. Only you can decide on the value of that.

And even after dropping $11K, you still have the remainder of the drivetrain and chassis clocking in at 325Kmi. So chances are good the car will continue to be a bit of a money pit.

And - from a financial investment standpoint: $11K into an SE with 325K miles will NOT result in an SE WORTH $11K!! Ever! Whereas, the minty low-mileage -SE for the SAME price, will actually continue to INCREASE (sloooowly) in value.

So. Your head? or your Heart?

Best of luck!

Stu Aull
80GS Alaska

 

Thanks for the review. Hoses and radiator are pretty new - but clearly makes sense to add a clutch - thanks for the suggestion!

 

Unless the car is pretty choice (low miles, great condition), I wouldn't put that kind of money back into the car. Frankly, even then I would hesitate. I would think you could find a VERY nice GSL-SE with a lot less miles with good paint for $6,300.

Or you could find a used engine and put it in the car...

I'd go shopping.

Just my $.02.

 

The thing is, I don't want another GSL-SE. It is highly unlikely it would have been cared for the way this one has been. If the car was totaled today, I just wouldn't replace it. And I wouldn't buy a used engine, again, I don't know where it is has been like I have with this one...

So with $6,300 I accomplish what other are looking at with dream builds - a RX7 exactly like I want it (minus paint chips and a bumper scar) with an effectively new engine.

As to the value being lower than buying a low-mileage SE, that assume it would ever be for sale.

Thanks for the thoughts, the engine work is starting today!

 

lol, i would have done it too. in fact one of my high school friends still has his GSL-SE, and i just taught him how to build the engine that is going to go in it

 

Ha! Though the better advice is to not keep dumping money into a car, I did the same thing! Then I started the slide of 'what's the point of a new engine if you don't have a good exhaust? And if I have the exhaust, then I might as well get the intake..." I suppose it's the difference between having passion for a car vs. it just being an appliance.

Oh, and having a patient and understanding wife helps.

Good luck on the build!

 

i can tell you it wouldn't be $6300 at my shop, but maybe i should be charging $8k, since the more shops charge the more work it seems they get...

 

This shop has done nearly all the work on the car for the last 26 years. And most of the time I think they don't charge enough - if I took it to a general mechanic that didn't specialize in RX7s the same repairs would cost twice as much as they trial-and-errored replacement parts due to a lack of knowledge. To be perfectly honest, if they didn't exist and I didn't trust them, I would no longer have the car - I would have let it go back in the late 1990s...

 

So back to the original question, it sounds like you already had your mind made up before posting the question.

 

I hadn't made up my mind, but I was leaning toward doing the rebuild. I just wanted someone to validate the price was reasonable - and looking for someone to talk me out of it.

 

Unless there is sentimental value, I agree that putting the money toward a very nice GSL-SE is the answer.

As we know, sentimental value can tilt the scales. Of course, you can make new memories with a new car also.

I recently sold a GSL-SE that was in my family for 6 years. It just so happened that the stars aligned for me and after trying to sell this GSL-SE for over a year, I sold it and bought an extremely nice early 1979 RX-7 with just the profit all in one weekend. I like this 1979 GS better than the 1985 GSL-SE.

Sentimental value can cloud our better judgement sometimes.

 

Looks pretty good when opened up for the first time in 30 years...